News

Teachers' union to strike on Wednesday

SCHOOLS across Northwich, Winsford and Middlewich could be affected by a National Union of Teacher’s strike this Wednesday, March 26.

Members of the union are staging a walkout citing ‘excessive workload and bureaucracy, performance related pay and in defence of a national pay scale system, and unfair pension changes’.

Christine Blower, general secretary of the NUT said: “Teachers deeply regret the disruption caused by this strike action to parents and teachers.

“The Government’s refusal, however, to engage to resolve the dispute means that we have no alternative other than to demonstrate the seriousness of our concerns.

“Teachers’ levels of workload are intolerable –the Government’s own survey, published last month, shows that primary school teachers work nearly 60 hours a week and secondary school teachers work nearly 56 hours a week.

“Two in five teachers are leaving the profession in the first five years of teaching, as are many others. This is bad for children and bad for education.”

Ms Blower said replacing the national pay framework with performance related pay meant head teachers and governors have to worry about developing a pay system instead of focussing on teaching and learning.

She added that performance related pay was ‘unnecessary’ and will build ‘unfairness and additional bureaucracy’.

On pensions she said: “Teachers do not believe that they can work to the age of 68 or even later for a full pension – and they don’t believe it is educationally desirable either.

“The NUT recognises that other workers are having their pensions squeezed. We believe that this is wrong too – everyone should be entitled to a decent standard of living in retirement.”

Comments (14)

Good luck to the teachers,they have has much right as anyone to strike,and when you have people such as teachers taking strike action it shows that working people have just about had enough,how long before the medical profession take action,and who can blame them either.

Good luck to the teachers,they have has much right as anyone to strike,and when you have people such as teachers taking strike action it shows that working people have just about had enough,how long before the medical profession take action,and who can blame them either.MrBenggo

Another example of the public sectors tiresome response to the economic crisis.
They want to have more and they want to do less. How drole.
They already get 13 weeks holiday a year which is 8 weeks more than me and most of the people reading this, So if you work out how much they are paid per day they actually do any work then they are the best paid of all of us!
Get back to work you whinging idle loafers.

Another example of the public sectors tiresome response to the economic crisis.
They want to have more and they want to do less. How drole.
They already get 13 weeks holiday a year which is 8 weeks more than me and most of the people reading this, So if you work out how much they are paid per day they actually do any work then they are the best paid of all of us!
Get back to work you whinging idle loafers.Over resident

If I told my employer I was going on strike because I wanted more money, I gaurantee that my name would be on the next list of redundancies and I would be out of a job.

As it is I have to manage with my minimal wage and 25 days holiday (which includes 8 bank holidays). How I wish I could have 6 weeks off in the summer, sitting in the garden, sipping G&T, planning what I am going to teach next year.

Teachers should be grateful for what they have got.
If I told my employer I was going on strike because I wanted more money, I gaurantee that my name would be on the next list of redundancies and I would be out of a job.
As it is I have to manage with my minimal wage and 25 days holiday (which includes 8 bank holidays). How I wish I could have 6 weeks off in the summer, sitting in the garden, sipping G&T, planning what I am going to teach next year.Higgy40

I'd love to take the summer off and then have another holiday between then and Xmas and then Xmas and New Year off and then another week or two at Easter and then the summer off again and then another holiday between then and Xmas and then Xmas and New Year off and then another week or two at Easter and then the summer off again...............
........

I'd love to take the summer off and then have another holiday between then and Xmas and then Xmas and New Year off and then another week or two at Easter and then the summer off again and then another holiday between then and Xmas and then Xmas and New Year off and then another week or two at Easter and then the summer off again...............
........MrT1976

Disgraceful. If you don't want to teach till your 68 then hand in your notice and go and work elsewhere. Stop disrupting education for your own agenda. What has their striking ever achieved to date.........nothing
.

Disgraceful. If you don't want to teach till your 68 then hand in your notice and go and work elsewhere. Stop disrupting education for your own agenda. What has their striking ever achieved to date.........nothing
.Middlewichresident

Yes. It gets a thumbs down on the survey on here. Nationally is does not seem to be well supported, not even heard it mentioned on the news. Did not know there was a planned strike till I read it on here. The school my children attend is all open. What did previous strikes achieve?

Yes. It gets a thumbs down on the survey on here. Nationally is does not seem to be well supported, not even heard it mentioned on the news. Did not know there was a planned strike till I read it on here. The school my children attend is all open. What did previous strikes achieve?Middlewichresident

teachers don't want performance related pay? we've had it for years out here in the real world.

working more years? - same again here, and in much more physical occupations.

if teachers din't like this changing world, then may I suggest they leave their positions and allow one of the hundreds of newly qualified teachers, to take their positions.

The fact that they are prepared to disrupt childrens valuable education makes me think that they shouldn't be in that job anyway!

and did the unions try to fight for the rest of the population when we faced these similar changes? no!

teachers don't want performance related pay? we've had it for years out here in the real world.
working more years? - same again here, and in much more physical occupations.
if teachers din't like this changing world, then may I suggest they leave their positions and allow one of the hundreds of newly qualified teachers, to take their positions.
The fact that they are prepared to disrupt childrens valuable education makes me think that they shouldn't be in that job anyway!
and did the unions try to fight for the rest of the population when we faced these similar changes? no!Muddlewich resident

has anyone actually read the report??? Only 15% of randomly teachers returned their completed diaries. Thats 1004 diaries returned out of 6753 sent out!!!! And the diaries were only filled out to reflect 2 specific dates in March.

I'm sorry, but working 60 hours a week on average is tosh! I appreciate that a little work is carried out at home by some that choose to, however, drive past a school car park at 5pm and see how many cars are there haha. Not many I can tell you.

As for the longer working years in order to get your pension, WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD.... that's if Joe public get a decent pension, which most won't.

These teachers CHOSE this profession so if they don't like the terms and conditions being imposed then get out like we all have to do when we don't like something.

has anyone actually read the report??? Only 15% of randomly teachers returned their completed diaries. Thats 1004 diaries returned out of 6753 sent out!!!! And the diaries were only filled out to reflect 2 specific dates in March.
I'm sorry, but working 60 hours a week on average is tosh! I appreciate that a little work is carried out at home by some that choose to, however, drive past a school car park at 5pm and see how many cars are there haha. Not many I can tell you.
As for the longer working years in order to get your pension, WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD.... that's if Joe public get a decent pension, which most won't.
These teachers CHOSE this profession so if they don't like the terms and conditions being imposed then get out like we all have to do when we don't like something.0ldtimer